Parallels offers awkward access to Windows apps on iPad for $80 a year

Parallels yesterday unveiled what it calls a breakthrough product that "'applifies' Windows and Mac applications, letting customers remotely access and experience them as if they were made for iPad."

It sounds great until you actually try to use it. Even worse, the new product is absurdly expensive compared to Parallels' other software and its older, cheaper app that did much the same thing until it was killed.

The company used to offer Parallels Mobile for the iPad for a flat fee of $19.99, but it's no longer available to buy. Parallels Mobile, which you can still use if you already bought it and have it installed, lets you access the Parallels virtual machines on your Mac over the Internet.

The new Parallels Access software does basically the same thing, except it allows you to open and view applications individually rather than trying to manipulate the whole virtual machine on an iPad screen. That's a nice improvement, but not one that's worth the price premium. At $79.99 per year, Parallels Access costs the same each year as Parallels Desktop costs for a perpetual license. And you need both to access Parallels virtual machines from the iPad.

Since Parallels Access is primarily an accessory to the base virtualization platform, it's ridiculous to make it cost the same (or more if you don't upgrade Parallels Desktop each year). As if it couldn't get any more ridiculous, each computer you access through the app requires its own $79.99 yearly subscription. Parallels Access without Parallels Desktop will get you remote access to a host computer without any virtual machines, but at that point you might as well just go for a free alternative that works slightly less smoothly instead of paying $79.99 a year.

Maybe the price would be acceptable if Parallels Access actually delivered on its claim of making Windows and Mac applications feel like native iPad applications. The reality is that no remote access program makes Windows feel native on the iPad. Tools like LogMeIn or PocketCloud are convenient in a pinch, but they're not actually pleasant to use since you're generally interacting with tiny controls made for mice and keyboards. Parallels added some new touch-friendly gestures, like a double tap to replace the mouse right click, scrolling, selecting text, and copy and paste. But it certainly doesn't make desktop applications feel like they were built for the iPad. The biggest differentiation for Parallels Access compared to other iPad-based remote access tools is integration with virtual machines, which already existed in the discontinued and cheaper Parallels Mobile.

We're guessing Android users will get to join in on the awkwardness at some point, because Parallels said that "Support of devices in addition to the iPad is in development." Using Parallels Access requires an agent to be installed on the computer you're accessing. There is an agent for both Apple and Windows computers, but the Windows tool is still in beta.

I was able to test Parallels Access today (for as long as I could stomach it) because of a 14-day trial offered before you need to buy a subscription. One improvement is an application launcher that provides easier access to both Windows and Mac apps. But while this showed me Windows desktop applications such as the various Microsoft Office programs, it only displayed one of the touch-friendly Metro programs in Windows 8. That one program was the Windows 8 Mail app, and clicking the icon in the Parallels Access launcher didn't actually launch the program. I was able to start Mail manually from the virtual machine on my computer and see it show up on the iPad, so this was clearly a problem with the launcher rather than the app or virtual machine.

Even worse, launching Parallels Access on my iPad forced Parallels on my Mac into full screen mode and messed up all my windows. Applications on my second monitor were moved to my primary monitor, and nearly every open window was resized into an awkward position with the window being partly hidden behind the Mac's dock. When I disconnected the iPad from the Mac, I had to move all the windows back to their original positions and sizes. That's a problem I never had with Parallels Mobile, which I bought a year or so ago and still have on my iPad.

Obviously, I don't recommend buying Parallels Access unless it gets a dramatic overhaul in both usability and price.

Competitor VMware Fusion, by the way, doesn't have an iPad app at all. Perhaps that's for the best.

Promoted Comments

" The reality is that no remote access program makes Windows feel native on the iPad. Tools like LogMeIn or PocketCloud are convenient in a pinch, but they're not actually pleasant to use since you're generally interacting with tiny controls made for mice and keyboards. "

That has been my experience. Ultimately, if you absolutely need windows "apps" in tablet form, like I did, I ended up buying a surface pro. While I don't enjoy Metro, or Start screen, when it was time to make a decision, an active digitizer, ability to join domains, bit locker won the day.

I tried Parallels Access last night when they sent out promotional e-mails. I was really turned off by the fact that the $80 subscription fee isn't disclosed anywhere in the e-mail or download page, so I didn't actually discover that it was a trial until after I had finished installing everything. That's really, really poor form.

I currently use Splashtop and VNC. The "applification" in Parallels Access basically consists of providing touch scrolling and iOS-like text selection and cursor manipulation for native desktop apps. The whole thing is a bit more polished than Splashtop and the text stuff is reasonably well done, but there's absolutely nothing in it that justifies an $80 annual subscription fee. They need to try harder.

I use Parallels for OSX to run some technical Windows apps and it works great.

By why would I spend almost as much to use Windows on my f'n iPad when iWork aps for iOS basically do whatever I need in terms of occasional document reading and editing for a small fraction of the price?

This product makes no sense. Tablets are tablets. PCs are PCs. Tim Cook is correct.

Yuck. Might as well just get the Pages, Keynote, and Numbers native apps and call it good. I do have the Splashtop app that allows me to mirror my desktop on my iPad, but I can't honestly remember the last time I even used it.

Wow this is article is seriously trolling. Is this Gizmodo or something?

1) Parallels Access is not to access "Windows apps". It's to access all the desktop's apps, one of which might *happen to be* Parallels Desktop. e.g. I accessed DEVONThink on my iPad remotely, which was awesome (and clearly not a Windows app)

2) You don't require Parallels Desktop (where did you get that idea??), note that you can get the Parallels Access agent for a Windows machine (which obviously can't run Parallels Desktop).

3) Ungainly? It doesn't sound like you actually tried it? It's brilliant. You must have done something wrong when you describe manually having to resize and move windows, because when you disconnect (you did actually disconnect, right?) the old window sizes and positions pop back into place. It has always done so in the beta version, if that's not the case now then it's possibly a bug/regression.

Tapping on something felt much more "iPad-like" in everything I tried (i.e. buttons and menus were a lot easier to hit than with any other remote desktop app I tried - and I've tried a few).

This is not a remote desktop app, if you used it like that (with the optional "desktop mode") then you missed the point of it.

Sounds like there's a potential market for a VNC-like client product that would allow a remote log-on. And yes make it open-source please.

What kind of utility would a VNC client have when operating a WIMP based UI on a touch screen? I can imagine it being horrible to use. An SSH client though, now that's useful because it'd work just as well on touch as it would on a desktop.

I haven't tried using VNC-like applications, so I'm working from assumptions here.

Wow, that's just... sad. I'm certainly glad I never bothered to shell out the money for Parallels Mobile. A stunt like this also makes me much less willing to consider future updates to Parallels Desktop.

While Parallels Desktop's UI is far nicer than VMware Fusion's (at least what I've seen in screenshots), if Parallels begins making this sort of BS a habit, I might have to take VMware up on their whole switch discount next time I plan on upgrading. VMware has a fairly long history of offering a pretty good product, and has excellent Linux support (Parallels' tools don't support the slightly less mainstream distros, and they don't tend to port their tools to distros more than a few months after that version of Parallels).

Does anyone else think that this program exists simply because Apple doesn't allow bluetooth mouse connectivity to the iPad? For a fraction of the cost I can use Splashtop, and if Apple ever allowed bluetooth mouse connectivity, Why would I ever need this if I could use Splashtop (for $1/mo) instead.

Sounds like there's a potential market for a VNC-like client product that would allow a remote log-on. And yes make it open-source please.

What kind of utility would a VNC client have when operating a WIMP based UI on a touch screen? I can imagine it being horrible to use. An SSH client though, now that's useful because it'd work just as well on touch as it would on a desktop.

I haven't tried using VNC-like applications, so I'm working from assumptions here.

It's awkward but manageable for simple things. I've used TeamViewer's iPad app to keep an eye on and tweak a Windows machine, and it works. It's not as good as using a computer with a mouse/trackpad/whatever simply because all of the applications running on the remote computer are expecting a pixel-precise pointing device rather than a fat finger, but as long as you don't mind zooming in to hit small targets it does work.

2) You don't require Parallels Desktop (where did you get that idea??), note that you can get the Parallels Access agent for a Windows machine (which obviously can't run Parallels Desktop).

Yes that's correct, I fixed that part just before seeing your comment. I should have clarified (and now have) that you only need the Desktop counterpart in order to access virtual machines. But really, access to virtual machines is the main differentiation between this and other remote access tools. The extra gestures are nice but it's still far more awkward to use than a native iPad app (even though Parallels claims otherwise), so the minor improvement over other remote access tools doesn't justify $80 a year, at least to my financial sensibilities.

Sounds like there's a potential market for a VNC-like client product that would allow a remote log-on. And yes make it open-source please.

What kind of utility would a VNC client have when operating a WIMP based UI on a touch screen? I can imagine it being horrible to use. An SSH client though, now that's useful because it'd work just as well on touch as it would on a desktop.

I haven't tried using VNC-like applications, so I'm working from assumptions here.

It's awkward but manageable for simple things. I've used TeamViewer's iPad app to keep an eye on and tweak a Windows machine, and it works. It's not as good as using a computer with a mouse/trackpad/whatever simply because all of the applications running on the remote computer are expecting a pixel-precise pointing device rather than a fat finger, but as long as you don't mind zooming in to hit small targets it does work.

That's the thing this app tries to solve. It resizes things to fit your screen (instead of making you zoom) and reducing the need for pixel-perfect clicking. "In the neighborhood of that button" often does the trick.

It's not supposed to be a VNC replacement, if so, charging that price would be even MORE ridiculous. I'm not sure why they stopped selling Parallels Mobile, because the two *could* work together, though it might be confusing for some customers, I guess.

Hopefully they'll lower the price once they realize how much of their potential market they're missing. I'd probably get it for a $50 one-time fee...

It's awkward but manageable for simple things. I've used TeamViewer's iPad app to keep an eye on and tweak a Windows machine, and it works. It's not as good as using a computer with a mouse/trackpad/whatever simply because all of the applications running on the remote computer are expecting a pixel-precise pointing device rather than a fat finger, but as long as you don't mind zooming in to hit small targets it does work.

In Team Viewer on Android, you drag the cursor around the screen and tap to left-click (long press to right-click). It actually allows for great precision, if you either zoom in or set your desktop to a lower resolution. When you drag the cursor, it is positioned some distance from your finger tip, so that you can always see it. It is at first counter-intuitive, but it works very well once you get used to it. There is very little lag on an OK connection, it's quite smooth. And, if you use a bluetooth mouse and keyboard, I think it can be quite good, if that works well—haven't tested it, because I don't have either. Scrolling works by dragging with two fingers.

Does anyone else think that this program exists simply because Apple doesn't allow bluetooth mouse connectivity to the iPad? For a fraction of the cost I can use Splashtop, and if Apple ever allowed bluetooth mouse connectivity, Why would I ever need this if I could use Splashtop (for $1/mo) instead.

While standard BT mice aren't supported, with all iOS devices that support BT Low Energy (4S and newer, IIRC), a custom, non-standard BTLE mouse could be used with any arbitrary iOS app that explicitly supports it, as iOS apps can do arbitrary communication with BTLE devices using CoreBluetooth. A bit of a hack, granted.

Or maybe someone could sell a device that proxies regular BT mice to BTLE using a quasi-fixed protocol, and release an iOS library for App developers to integrate. Then you could use any BT mouse, although I'm not sure the range of BTLE, or what sort of battery life to expect with something like that.

Of course, there's also going to be the Game Pads coming out later this year...

I tried Parallels Access last night when they sent out promotional e-mails. I was really turned off by the fact that the $80 subscription fee isn't disclosed anywhere in the e-mail or download page, so I didn't actually discover that it was a trial until after I had finished installing everything. That's really, really poor form.

I currently use Splashtop and VNC. The "applification" in Parallels Access basically consists of providing touch scrolling and iOS-like text selection and cursor manipulation for native desktop apps. The whole thing is a bit more polished than Splashtop and the text stuff is reasonably well done, but there's absolutely nothing in it that justifies an $80 annual subscription fee. They need to try harder.

Does anyone else think that this program exists simply because Apple doesn't allow bluetooth mouse connectivity to the iPad? For a fraction of the cost I can use Splashtop, and if Apple ever allowed bluetooth mouse connectivity, Why would I ever need this if I could use Splashtop (for $1/mo) instead.

Now that you can get devices that eliminate a lot of these iPad issues, it'll be interesting to see if people continue to buy iPads at the same rate, or if they switch to more versatile devices. My ThinkPad Table 2 is very similar to iPad in size, weight, battery life, and cost, but it allows me to connect any Bluetooth peripheral, any USB peripheral that doesn't require extra power, and accommodates a microSD card.

My primary motivation in buying the TPT2 was that I had work related reasons for wanting the actual Microsoft RDP client, but I've been nothing but happy with it. I prefer using it with touch, but if I need RDP (or Office), I just fire up my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and go to work as I used to with a laptop (at 3x the weight and 1/3 the battery life).

The more things we can move to cloud/hosted services that have application layers for mobile devices and laptops the better we are. I really hate this "need" to continue using products like "WORD" or "Powerpoint" when there are alternatives out there that do not require you to contort your entire work-flow just so you can use your iPad/mobile device...

I wouldn't down-vote you for this and I know a lot of people agree. My objections primarily come down to the offline thing. Although I usually have a connection, I don't want to be limited by the need for one.

And a lot of installed software is more polished and feature complete. For example, I use the SkyDrive Word and OneNote apps periodically, and while it's great to have them available, they're no substitute for the desktop versions in situations where there's a choice.

" The reality is that no remote access program makes Windows feel native on the iPad. Tools like LogMeIn or PocketCloud are convenient in a pinch, but they're not actually pleasant to use since you're generally interacting with tiny controls made for mice and keyboards. "

That has been my experience. Ultimately, if you absolutely need windows "apps" in tablet form, like I did, I ended up buying a surface pro. While I don't enjoy Metro, or Start screen, when it was time to make a decision, an active digitizer, ability to join domains, bit locker won the day.

A very simple (more or less) solution to this situation or problem, if the ability to run a home computer while on the road is even a problem in the first place, is, just invest in a basic Macbook Air and bring your 'system' with you. Any files you might need on the road, access through Dropbox, Copy, Google Drive, or similar services. In my case, I have an internet-based, accessible NAS device. Any applications you need, install them on the Macbook Air, including a VM of Windows if that is what you need/want. No need to frustratingly run apps installed on a home computer while overseas or on-the-road.

I don't know what Parallels is thinking in their leadership team. They were (and still are) the only type-2 hyper visor that supports easy GPU passthrough. They killed that on all products other than Mac as a host after workstation extreme 5. Now they are offering this product.

Nothing bugs me more than a company not knowing that they can capitalize on a void in the market and then faltering (easy to use GPU passthrough on a type-2 hyper visor). Oh well.

I was considering a Surface Pro so I could run Dreamweaver for the casual web based writing I need it for, but this might serve me better. I suspect one could make an Applescript that "prepared" the Mac in much the same way: quitting apps that aren't to be used, setting the screen to match the iPad size.

If Parallels would make a mouse that would somehow share its movement over the web, allowing us to use a mouse with the remote machine, it'd make a big difference overall.

For a start, why are you doing web development in Dreamweaver? Secondly, why on Earth would you want to use it on tablet and thirdly, why are you using Dreamweaver?

On Android there's Deuter IDE or DroidEdit. Both decent enough for "on the go" coding...

Although you'd be far better off with an Ultrabook than a tablet. People need to stop shoehorning their needs into the tablet form. It's not suited for coding. It's not suited for writing documents. If the work is important enough to go through the frustration of doing it on a tablet then it deserves being done with the right tools.

I use Parallels for OSX to run some technical Windows apps and it works great.

By why would I spend almost as much to use Windows on my f'n iPad when iWork aps for iOS basically do whatever I need in terms of occasional document reading and editing for a small fraction of the price?

This product makes no sense. Tablets are tablets. PCs are PCs. Tim Cook is correct.

I agree with Xiao-zhi. Nothing is going to make MS Office seem pleasant on an iPad. I'd far rather work in a native iPad app and then do any further work on the desktop machine. if we ever do succeed in making iPads the same as PC's, someone else will have to reinvent an iPad.